Friday, 28 March 2008

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon has got to be one of Europe's best kept secrets. I just spent six days there and was blown away. So much to see and do. And I'm not sure really where to begin, so this will just be a jumble of findings, tip and random pics to try and explain why I loved Lisbon.Firstly, the signage. Beautiful old chunky signage.Cafe Nicola boasts a magnificent art deco interior from it's 1935 renovation inside and striking 1929 facade. Praca Dom Pedro IV 25-26.Part of the Elevador de Santa Justa. A 45m high cast iron lift completed 1902. Rua de Santa Justa & Rua Aurea, Baxia €1.10, 9am-9pm.Looking up...And looking down...Patterned cobbled streets Lisbon is known for.Tile and ceramic stores everywhere. Great stuff.A lot of grafitti about too.And tiled walls everywhere. I especially loved this retro restaurant wall. Brilliant!Lots of retro signage. I don't know how it survived this long...Me trying on a stunning €400 vintage dress. Lots of tulle and satin. Sadly not quite enough dosh in my wallet to bring it home with me...My favourite food. Egg tarts (bottom left). TO DIE FOR. Just delish.More tiles and graffiti.Remember, the Portuguese have siestas! Shops shut between 1 and 3pm. This doesn't apply to department stores.More type.Yummy chocolate and coffee from A Carioca, Rua da Misericordia 9.Enjoying a beer with the masses and watching the sun go down.Tiles and truck graphics.Cafe Buenos Aires, Calcada do Duque.One this you must try is grilled fish in Lisbon. It's famous for it.For a cheap and cheerful local grilled fish i can highly recommend Cervejaria Paco Real, Rua da Conceicao 55-57. Amazing huge plate of fish, for under €10 a head.More crazy buildings.A glove shop like no other. Luvaria Ulisses only fits about two customers at a time but is worth having a peek in. Opened in 1925 softer leather than these you will not find. Prices approx €45-€55. Rua do Carmo 87a.And this is just the tip of the iceburg...

I found your blog serendipitously, by google-searching for "glove shop portugal" -- wonderful pictures of Lisbon. We're going to be there in June (after a week in more rural Portugal at a converted olive mill run by a couple from Amsterdam, coincidentally). We have 3 days to roam these streets, and you're making me think I should bring the SLR camera rather than just the little snap-and-shoot! You take wonderful photographs. Thanks.

I'm portuguese, from Lisbon, by the way.I'm glad you liked our city, I do think it has its special charm. It's old, very old, we did not have a civil war or a World War here that might have cause destruction to the city, so it remained relatively unchanged. There are inhabited buildings here that date back from the reconstruction that took place after the disaster of 1755 (there was an earthquake, followed by a Tsunami, which caused massive destruction to the city). It's this mixture of the old and the new that usually captivates people, I believe... and the light. Portugal is not that far from the equator, so we have a very moderate climate which floods Lisbon with a very special light.

Just one thing... Pastéis de Nata, those small tarts you mention, aren't really made of eggs, actually. Their main ingredient is cream and if you translate their name to English, it means something like "cream pastries".